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UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London, 7th Annual International Postgraduate Conference

Inclusion Exclusion

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Thursday 16 February 4:30 – 6:00: Panel C2: Communism in Central and Eastern European Countries

Jan Behrends (Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin): ‘Inventing friendship and constructing the nation: Polish Communist propaganda 1944-1957’

My paper will present some research result from my PhD dissertation which consisted of a comparative Study of propaganda in communist dictatorships. For your conference I will concentrate on the Polish case and ask, how Communist propaganda constructed a new Polish nation and how it tied Poland to the new hegemon, the Soviet Union. I will also attempt to analyse how this rhetoric resonated in the public sphere. Through the analysis of nationalism in a communist state I wish to contribute to the theme of next year’s conference.

Starting in 1944 the Polish Communists used nationalistic rhetoric to gain legitimacy for their rule. In a first phase, they used a völkisch nationalism which included a pan-Slavic and anti-German leitmotif. From 1948 onwards the narrative was altered. Along with the other party-states of Eastern Europe, Poland was integrated in the imagined community of the "Great Friendship" of socialist nations. The "other" was no longer Germany, but the United States. The vibrant communist anti-Americanism had a large impact on Polish society. It could lead to show trials and reprisals against those who dressed western or admired American culture. 1956 meant the breakdown of the official public and the return of a uncensored nationalism on the street. Strong anti-Russian and also Anti-Semitic feelings were expressed. I will argue that the struggle between the party-state and society in post-war Poland was partly a struggle over the legitimate way to define the Polish nation in a time of hardship and catastrophe. Both the party-state and the opposition exploited visions of a homogenous Poland that excluded ethnic minorities.